The Year Things Went Awry
by SweeneyToddRocksMySocks
Summary: This Christmas, Mrs. Lovett tries to make the season as bright as possible, for Toby and Mr. Todd. But unfortunately for them, nothing goes according to plan, or tradition. Can they still have a fantastic Christmas? Sweenet.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hey folks. I'm feeling really Christmas-y right now, so I decided to take a break from my other story to write this. Enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Sweeney Todd. Do you want to give him to me for Christmas? I'd Lovett. **

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Mrs. Lovett scanned the market in search of the man she had heard about from one of her customers. Supposedly, he still had a few Christmas trees for sale. Mrs. Lovett could only imagine the state of them, but she wanted a tree nonetheless. Toby tugged at her sleeve. "There he is Mum!" he exclaimed, "Hurry, hurry!"

The boy dragged her halfway across the market to a stand, where one lonely Christmas tree was propped up against it. Mrs. Lovett could tell it was not the best tree out there, but it was tolerable, if she were to place the more scraggly side facing the wall. Toby ran over to it and was just about to drag it when a big, burly man stepped up.

"What'd ya think yer doin' with that boy?" he asked roughly. Toby shrank back.

"I-I-I wa-was just going t-to br-bring it to my-"

"S'what I thought," the man interrupted, "Now gimme that."

Toby was just about to let it go and walk away when Mrs. Lovett stormed over. "What the bloody hell are you doing, scaring a little child like that?" she shouted, "Get away from our tree!"

The man was not impressed. "Sorry little lady," he said mockingly, "But I want this one right here, and I'm going to take it"

Mrs. Lovett stomped her foot. "Absolutely not!"

The man was beginning to become impatient. "Look, just walk away. Do you really want to get in a fight?" he asked threateningly.

"Maybe I do," Mrs. Lovett said icily, "And you don't want that. So get out of my sight."

With a roll of his eyes, the man said, "Listen, I get what I want when I want it," here he smacked Toby for emphasis and the boy gave a little cry, "So you just..." But Mrs. Lovett was not listening. Her eyes had glazed over after he had smacked Toby and after a moment, she threw her fist in his face, hitting him hard in the nose. It started to bleed and the man blinked in surprise.

"Don't you dare hit my boy." Mrs. Lovett said darkly. The man glared and in an instant, the pair was on the ground wrestling and hurling insults at each other in the process. A crowd soon gathered and people were cheering mostly for Mrs. Lovett, the feisty pie maker from Fleet Street. Somewhere in the noise, she thought she heard Toby shout, "I'm getting-" but she couldn't be sure and she didn't hear the rest anyway.

- - -

Toby was running down the street, and was very grateful that the shop was so close to the market. He had told Mrs. Lovett that he was getting Mr. Todd, and he hoped she heard him. He pounded up the shop steps and burst in the door. "Mr. Todd!" Toby shouted, "Mr. Todd, you have to come quick. Mrs. Lovett's in a fight at the market!"

Mr. Todd glanced up from sharpening his razor. "What?" he asked in shock.

Toby gasped for breath. "Mrs. Lovett's in a fight. At the market and you have to come quick!"

Mr. Todd didn't have time to think as Toby grabbed his arm and practically dragged him out the door, down the street and into the market. There was a huge crowd, and Mr. Todd and Toby had to push and shove to get to Mrs. Lovett, who looked like she had the upper hand.

Sitting on top of the man, Mrs. Lovett was screaming at the top of her lungs as she threw punch after punch into the man's torso and face. "You bastard! You no good, bloody bastard. You arrogant, slime ridden-"

But she was cut off by the man's fist in her eye. With a howl of pain, she slammed her knee between the man's legs. The man cried out and slumped back to the ground "That should teach you to hurt children!" Mrs. Lovett said with a gasp as she stood up. She gingerly raised her hand to her eye and winced. "Bugger." she muttered.

Mr. Todd, mesmerized by the scene in front of him, suddenly snapped into action. He lunged forward, just as Mrs. Lovett was about to kick the man again, and pulled her back. "What on earth is going on Mrs. Lovett?" he asked.

With a sheepish look to the ground, Mrs. Lovett said very softly, "He hurt my boy."

Mr. Todd rolled his eyes. "The boy seems fine. What the hell possessed you to-"

"I told you. OW!" Mrs. Lovett pressed her fingers to her bleeding lip and looked over herself. She was a sorry mess. Her skirt was torn and her striped stocking were on display for all the world to see. Her sleeves were ripped and falling off her shoulders. A purple shiner was developing on her left eye and she had a long cut running down her cheek. With a shake of her head she sighed, "It's not very gentleman-like to hurt little boys."

"And I suppose it's lady-like to wrestle in the market?" Mr. Todd snapped. For some reason, he didn't like the idea of a man twice her size fighting with Mrs. Lovett, even if she did beat the living shit out of him, and he was very unhappy with the situation.

"No, it's not." Mrs. Lovett said impatiently, "Can I get my tree now? Someone else is bound to get it if I don't."

Mr. Todd was appalled. "Not in the condition you're in. Look at you!"

Mrs. Lovett snorted. "They just saw me-"

"Toby!" Mr. Todd interrupted, "Go get Mrs. Lovett's tree." The boy took the money from Mrs. Lovett's hand and hurried over to purchase the tree. Meanwhile, Mr. Todd took his coat off and handed it to Mrs. Lovett. "Just put this on." he said.

Mrs Lovett obliged and was soon wrapped in a leather coat far too big for her, thus almost covering her damaged dress. Silently, the trio walked back to the shop. Once there, Mrs. Lovett sheepishly retreated to her room where she cleaned up somewhat. Several minutes later, she returned, clothes changed and blood wiped from her face to find Mr. Todd in the kitchen with a bowl of meat that looked suspiciously like the meat she had ground in the bakehouse earlier that morning.

"Put this on your eye." Mr. Todd said, handing her a handful of meat. "It'll help it."

"Ew." Mrs. Lovett said. But she put it on anyway and sat down at a table. At length, Mr. Todd spoke up. "Next time," he said, "Don't hit him." Mrs. Lovett grinned. "I don't think that he'll even dream of a next time Mr. Todd." she said arrogantly.

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_Nope, I'm not done. Unless you all think I should keep it as it is. But I have more ideas for this so...._

_Review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Okay, here I am again, with another chapter. I went Christmas shopping yesterday and was like "What the heck!" Everything was so pricey! What on earth are those manufacturers trying to pull on me?!?!_

**Disclaimer: *in a Mariah Carey voice* (to the tune of All I want for Christmas) Aaallll I want for Christmaassssss. Iiiiiiiiiiisssss Sweeney Tooooooooooooooddd! (cause I don't own him)**

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Mrs. Lovett had been holding the meat on her eye for quite some time, when Toby came into the kitchen. "Mum, Mum, can we put the tree up now?" he begged.

"Don't see why not." Mrs. Lovett replied, "Mr. T, can you help us a little?"

Mr. Todd reluctantly agreed and Mrs. Lovett hurried to wash the meat residue off her face. Once the trio had gathered in the parlor, Toby asked, "How are we going to put it up?"

Mrs. Lovett frowned. "I hadn't thought of that." she said. Then her face lit up. "Be right back!" she said, and dashed out of the room. Mr. Todd and Toby heard crashing and banging coming from somewhere in the house and wondered what on earth was going on. Mrs. Lovett returned shortly and breathlessly held up an old tin bucked and a handful of nails.

"Put it in here!" she said, "And I'll drive the nails through the bucket into the tree!"

Mr. Todd raised and eyebrow. "Are you sure that's a good idea Mrs. Lovett?" he asked doubtfully, "It seems that it might-"

"Oh shut it!" Mrs. Lovett cut in, "It'll be fine." She hurried and set the bucket in a corner of the parlor. "Put it in here." she said. Mr. Todd sighed, but picked the tree up (it wasn't too big) and plopped it into the bucket with a thud.

"A little to the left," Mrs. Lovett said, her hands on her hips, "Then a little towards me and it should be straight."

Mr. Todd moved the tree and was rewarded with a sound of exasperation from Mrs. Lovett. "Now you've moved it too far!" she exclaimed, "Take it back a little."

With a roll of his eyes, Mr. Todd moved it to the right, ever so slightly. "More." Mrs. Lovett said, "I'l tell you when to stop."

Mr. Todd continued to pull the tree until Mrs. Lovett cried out, "Stop! Keep it right there!" She ran over and crawled underneath the tree with the hammer and nails. As she wormed her way on the floor, her skirts got bunched up, and she sighed in frustration. Mr. Todd could hear her muttering something like, "damn dress" and he stifled a chuckle. After banging all the nails into place, she crawled back out.

"There," she said with relief, smoothing her dress back down, "You can let go now Mr. Todd."

Mr. Todd, who had been holding the tree up, let go and stepped back. The tree immediately fell over, on top of Mrs. Lovett, bucket and all. For a split second, all were silent in horror (and amusement on Mr. Todd's part, as he didn't care too much for Christmas) until Mrs. Lovett let out a shriek and tried to roll the tree off of her. "Get this off right now!" she yelled, but Mr. Todd was too busy trying not to laugh to be able to help, and Toby was frozen in shock.

"It's not funny!" Mrs. Lovett cried, "Help me!" She attempted again to get the tree off, but it was too heavy for her. Mr. Todd had given up trying not to laugh and was now focusing on not falling to the floor.

"Sweeney Todd you get this bloody tree off me right now or I swear, I will come into your room at night and rip out your god-damn innards with a fork!" Mrs. Lovett screamed. That got the barber's attention and, wiping away tears of laughter, he rolled the tree off the fuming baker.

As soon as the tree was off of her, Mrs. Lovett jumped up and rubbed her arm. "That hurt." she said, "Now help me get this stupid thing back up."

Together, Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett pushed the tree back up to it's former position. "Now pet, how are we going to get it to stay there?" Mr. Todd asked with amusement.

Mrs. Lovett sighed. "Good question," she said, "Toby, do you have any string? We can tie it to the wall. I did that one year, and the nail's still here."

Toby nodded and came back with some sturdy string. "How's this?" he asked. "Just fine," Mrs. Lovett replied, "Now Mr. Todd, you just hold the tree up, and I'll tie it."

Mr. Todd made a face, and was tempted to let go of the tree, just for fun, but refrained. He had seen what happened to people Mrs. Lovett got seriously mad at, and he wanted to stay on her good side, or at least, semi-good side.

After crawling back out from behind the tree, Mrs. Lovett said, "Now you can let go, but slowly."

The tree did not topple down and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Can we decorate it now?" Toby asked excitedly. Mrs. Lovett nodded and answered, "Yes, but you do it for a while; I need to sit down."

She plopped down on the settee with a sigh and watched Toby hang homemade snowflakes on the tree. Surprisingly, Mr. Todd did not retreat up to his shop, but sat down on one of the chairs. Mrs. Lovett beamed at this.

"Mum," Toby asked at length, "Would you put the star on top?" Mrs. Lovett took the paper star from the boy's hand, and stood on her tiptoes to put it on. Just when she was about to give up and get a chair, she felt someone come up behind her and take the star out of her hand. Turning her head slightly, she saw that it was Mr. Todd. He put the star up and wordlessly turned to place another log in the fire

Almost melting inside, Mrs. Lovett sat back down. Mr. Todd sat down as well, and Mrs. Lovett was overjoyed that instead of returning to his chair, he sat down on the other end of the settee. It seemed that the situation couldn't get better, until Toby's cry dragged both Mrs. Lovett and Mr. Todd back down to earth.

In his excitement, Toby had accidentally leaned up next to the fireplace and his pants caught on fire. As he spun, trying to get it out, he brushed up against the tree, igniting it as well.

With a shout, Mr. Todd jumped up and tackled Toby, successfully smothering the flames in the process. Mrs. Lovett ran into the kitchen and grabbed the kettle she had put on only minutes ago. She dumped it's contents on the tree and the fire was gone with a hiss and a cloud of smoke.

At length, Mrs. Lovett said, "Well, at least the wallpaper was already singed." Mr. Todd rolled his eyes. "Eminently practical as always, Mrs. Lovett." he said wryly.

Mrs. Lovett burst out laughing. "Thanks Mr. T" she said between giggles. With a small grin, Mr. Todd pried the kettle out of her hand. "You can let go now," he said. Mrs. Lovett realized she was still holding it, suddenly started trembling.

"Are you alright?" Mr. Todd asked with concern. Mrs. Lovett nodded and then shook her head. Mr. Todd noticed that her eyes were glistening with tears. At a loss, Mr. Todd stood there until Mrs. Lovett sniffed.

"I-I'm fine." she said in a trembling voice, "Just a little shaken." She wiped her eyes and smiled. "So, let's finish decorating this tree!"

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_A/N: Hurray for Sweenett and for burning trees! So, I have a question for all you. What's your biggest Christmas catastrophe? Mine was this year, when our 11ft tree fell on my sister. She wasn't hurt, but it took forever to get it back up again! Leave a review and tell me._


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **

**Me: I love Sweeney Todd**

**Background Voice: Um, that's not what you're supposed to say**

**Me: Oops, yeah right. Okay. Ahem. I want to drag Sweeney into my bedro-**

**Background Voice: Don't even go there!**

**Me: Fine! I do not own Sweeney Todd! Ya happy?**

**Sweeney: YES!**

**Me: *pouts***

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The tree was finally decorated and looked pretty, scraggly as it might be. Mrs. Lovett had since recovered from her meltdown and was joyfully humming as she picked up the stray pine needles off the floor. Once done, she jumped up and exclaimed, "Do you know what we need?"

Mr. Todd and Toby, a little surprised by the outburst, could only shake their heads. "Gingerbread men!" Mrs. Lovett said gleefully, "Gingerbread men. I should make some!" She dusted her hands off and left for the kitchen, leaving Toby and Mr. Todd to follow.

Mrs. Lovett was clattering around, trying to find a bowl when she realized that she was going to need sugar, if she was to make icing. "Toby, can you run to the market, and get some sugar?" she asked in her sweetest, "I-really-need-you-to-do-this" voice. Toby nodded and hurried to leave. "And if you see anything you think we might need, go ahead and get that too." she added knowing Toby knew their pantry better than she did.

Once Toby left, Mrs. Lovett set to making the gingerbread dough. The kitchen was soon filled with the spicy aroma of baking cookies. Unfortunately, Mrs. Lovett's kitchen oven was not big enough to hold all the cookies at once, so some of the dough was still sitting in the bowl.

Mr. Todd had been watching Mrs. Lovett throughout the process, and had also been eyeing the dough. Mr. Todd always knew that cookie dough tasted twice as good as the finished product, and he had resolved to take the mixing spoon, laden with cookie dough, as soon as Mrs. Lovett's back was turned.

His chance soon came and swiftly, he snatched the spoon out of the bowl. But the spoon caught on the edge of the bowl, sending it spinning across the countertop. He grabbed it before it could crash to the floor, but not before Mrs. Lovett caught him, spoon in hand.

"Just what do you think you're doing with that Mr. T?" she asked in amusement. Mr. Todd blinked, and then said cockily, "Taking your spoon."

Mrs. Lovett put her hands on her hips. "Nice try," she said with a laugh, "Now give me my spoon."

But Mr. Todd held it behind his back. "It's mine now." he said and turned to leave.

Mrs. Lovett walked out from behind the counter. "You can have it when I'm done," she said, "And you can lick the bowl too." She held out her hands for the spoon.

With a shake of his head, Mr. Todd backed away from Mrs. Lovett's outstretched hand. "I want it now." he said stubbornly.

"Mr. Todd, give me my spoon," Mrs. Lovett said as if she were talking to a child, "I don't want to have to take it from you."

Mr. Todd grinned. "I'd like to see you try."

Mrs. Lovett laughed and ran after him. Quickly, Mr. Todd dashed from the room, still holding on to the spoon. The pair ran all throughout the house till finally Mrs. Lovett cornered Mr. Todd. She grabbed for the spoon, but Mr. Todd lifted it high above her head. She jumped and reached but Mr. Todd only laughed at her attempts.

"Please Mr. Todd?" Mrs. Lovett pleaded. She was out of breath and tired. "I just want my spoon back."

In response, Mr. Todd ran his finger across the spoon, covering it with dough. "No." he said mischievously and popped his finger in his mouth. Mrs. Lovett gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine then," she said with a huff, "I'll just get another one."

She turned to leave, but Mr. Todd pulled her back. "Mrs. Lovett," he said, "This is exceptional cookie dough. You must try it."

Mrs. Lovett thought he was going to give her a finger-full, and waited eagerly, but his finger never entered her mouth. Instead, she found that he had shoved the spoon in, and she gasped and pulled it out.

"Blimey!" she exclaimed, "A little warning next time maybe!"

Mr. Todd laughed. "There'd be no fun in that pet." he said, "But it is good, isn't it?" Mrs. Lovett rolled her eyes and playfully hit his arm. "What am I going to do with you?" she asked drawing closer to him, "Now I have to get another spoon."

Just then, the shop's bell rang, signifying Toby's returned. "I'm back!" he called, "They done yet?"

Mrs. Lovett gasped. "The cookies! I left 'em in the oven!" She hurried to open the oven, and took out two trays of burnt gingerbread men. "At least it wasn't all of the dough." she said ruefully, "They might be salvageable, if I slather them in icing." But Mr. Todd made a noise of disgust. "What?" she asked.

"Do not waste good icing on those bits of charcoal." Mr. Todd said. Mrs Lovett made a face. "They're not that burnt!" she protested. To prove her point, she snatched up one of the cookies off the tray and took a bite. She chewed a little, and proceeded to spit it out. Mr. Todd chuckled, "See?" he asked triumphantly.

Slamming the tray down on the counter, Mrs. Lovett nodded and reached for a glass. "Toby, the gin!" she gasped, "Now!"

Toby hurried to fill her glass and Mrs. Lovett gulped down the drink. "Again!" she sputtered. Once she calmed down, she turned to find Mr. Todd laughing. "I guess they weren't that good." he said.

"Oh you shut up." Mrs. Lovett said irritably and set to work making more gingerbread men.


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello again. It's me with another chapter. I can't believe Christmas is almost here! :O Where has the time gone?_

**Disclaimer: Listen, if I owned Sweeney Todd, would I be writing fanfiction at three in the morning? Yeah, that's what I thought.**

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The next batch of cookies turned out beautifully, and Mrs. Lovett let Toby eat a few before sending him off to bed. The boy protested, but when Mrs. Lovett told him it was because she had some presents to wrap up, he went to bed quietly.

Brown paper in hand, Mrs. Lovett sat down at a table and began to wrap the candy, top and woolen gloves she had bought for Toby. Mr. Todd had since retreated into his shop, so she also wrapped the new razor holster she purchased. After seeing the sorry condition of his old one, she was delighted to have found something to give him. She had another gift for him, but stupid Anthony hadn't picked it up for her yet.

_He'd better do it tomorrow, _Mrs. Lovett thought, _Cause Christmas is the day after that._

She placed her gifts under the tree and prepared to go to bed, when she glanced out the window. It was snowing. Mrs. Lovett clapped her hands with glee and quickly turned to root around her closet. She was going outside; she wasn't one to miss the first snow of the season.

Once she found a thick, old pair of boots, Mrs. Lovett grabbed a coat and ran outside. After spinning around several times, and catching snowflakes on her tongue (and consequently, her eyelashes and cheeks) she bent down and picked up a handful of snow. Forming it into a ball, she carefully took aim, and threw it towards Mr. Todd's shop window. The ball soared gracefully through the air and landed squarely on the window.

_Smack!_

Mr. Todd jumped at the sound. He looked to find snow sliding down his window. Once glance out told him that Mrs. Lovett was the culprit. Taking his coat off the side of his chair, Mr. Todd left his shop, going to stop Mrs. Lovett before she did something even more stupid.

He made his way down the slippery stairs and found Mrs. Lovett crumpling more snow in her hand. "Mrs. Lovett." he said, making her start, "It's far too late to be out making snowballs. Come in before someone sees you."

Mrs. Lovett shook her head. "No," she said, throwing her snowball at him. It missed the barber by inches. "It's the first snow of the season."

"We'll have plenty more snows, now get inside." Mr. Todd said, turning to go into the lower shop. He had been meaning to come down anyway; he wanted a cookie.

With a huff, Mrs. Lovett followed him. "Bloody spoil-sport." she muttered, "Ruining my fun."

Mr. Todd heard this and smirked. "You can play in the snow tomorrow." he said, sounding like a patronizing father. Mrs. Lovett made a face. "Fine," she said haughtily, "I will."

Before Mr. Todd entered the pie shop, something cold and wet slammed into his back, accompanied by Mrs. Lovett's shriek of laughter. With a playful growl, he turned and chased after the baker. It took very little time for him to catch her, and he tackled her, dumping them into a snowdrift. With an evil laugh, he took a handful of snow and rubbed it in her face.

"There!" he said, rising to his feet, "Now come in." He brushed himself off and offered his hand to help Mrs. Lovett up. She gratefully took it and he pulled her till she was standing. "Thank you Mr. T" Mrs. Lovett said breathlessly.

Mr. Todd nodded and retreated inside, where it was warm. Mrs. Lovett followed, shivering in her now soaked dress. After changing into her nightgown, she hurried into the parlor, where Mr. Todd had considerately built a fire. She found Mr. Todd sitting on the settee, staring into the flames, like he usually did.

With a sigh of relief, Mrs. Lovett sank to the hearth, and held her hands in front of the welcome heat. Leaning closer, she tried to warm her whole body at once.

Mr. Todd meanwhile, watched with interest as Mrs. Lovett inched closer to the fire. _Any closer and she'll fall in,_ he thought to himself. Silently, he stood up and slipped up behind her. Suddenly, he said "Don't fall!" and grabbed her, causing her to scream.

"Don't. Do. That!" Mrs. Lovett gasped, "Nearly killed me ya great git!"

Mr. Todd smirked. "Why Mrs. Lovett I have no idea what you're talking about." he said smoothly, "I was simply trying to save you from the danger _you_ were putting yourself in." Mrs. Lovett rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you were." she said sarcastically. After a pause, she stood up. "I'm going to bed Mr. Todd. Goodnight."

She exited, but was drawn back by knocking on the shop door. "We're closed." she called. When the knocking persisted, she sighed and went to open the door. "I'm sorry but were-"

"Mrs. Lovett! It's me, Anthony!" the boy interrupted, "I've seen Johanna, and I got the lock of-"

"Hush!" Mrs. Lovett exclaimed, "Hush you bloody idiot!" then lowering her voice she whispered, "He's in the other room. Keep it down."

Anthony's eyes widened as Mr. Todd walked in. "Mr. Todd," he said sheepishly, "I didn't think you would be awake at such an hour."

"My thoughts on the matter exactly!" Mrs. Lovett said, "Now you really must be tired Mr. T. You really ought to get to bed. Goodnight!" and with that she shoved him out the shop door and up the steps to his barber shop before the confused man could even register what was going on.

Turning back to Anthony, Mrs. Lovett asked quietly, "So you've got it then?" The sailor nodded "She even tied it with a ribbon." he said.

Mrs. Lovett took the box in Anthony's hand. "Thank you so much!" she said, "I can't tell you how much this means to me, or what it will mean to Mr. Todd."

Anthony bashfully stared at the ground. "It's nothing Ma'am," he said, "I'm glad I could help you."

"Come back on Christmas," Mrs. Lovett said, "And eat Christmas dinner with us."

With a grin, Anthony opened the shop door and stepped out. "Thank you!" he called, "I will."

Mrs. Lovett smiled at the sailor's retreating figure. For all his foolishness, he was a good person; probably one of the very few left in the world. She turned back to the box in her hand and decided that she would just tie a pretty ribbon around it and call it wrapped.

Soon all her presents were placed under the tree and Mrs. Lovett was more than ready for a full nights sleep. She tiredly crawled into her bed and fervently hoped that Mr. Todd had not heard too much about his present.

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_Don't worry. If you haven't figured out what his present is, you'll find out. Eventually. Mwahaha! :P Anyway, so this is crazy: Our Christmas tree has a star on top, and it's very crooked. It looks like it'll fall off any minute. Well I was looking at it today, and I noticed that there's one long strand of spiderweb that goes from the star to the wall. It's so cute/weird/insane!_

_Review!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I'm in a bit of a hurry to finish this before Christmas. Do you think it's impossible?_

**Disclaimer: *sigh* I do not own Sweeney Todd, in all his sexy, bloody glory. :(**

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Mrs. Lovett was awoken by the sound of pounding on her door. Groggily, she sat up in bed and called out, "Come in."

Toby burst into the room. "Mum!" he exclaimed, "It's snowing out!" The boy jumped onto her bed and began to bounce, chanting, "It's snowing, it's snowing!" over and over.

Mrs. Lovett swung her legs over the side and stood up to stretch. "Would you stop saying that?" she demanded, after the twelfth "It's snowing!". Toby shut up.

"Sorry." he said guiltily.

"It's fine love," Mrs. Lovett assured him, "You just gave me a bit of a fright is all." _And a headache as well, _she thought. "I suppose you're hungry."

Toby nodded. "Well then I'll just dress and then make you some breakfast. How's eggs and toast sound?"

With a whoop of joy, Toby left the room. Mrs. Lovett smiled and shook her head as she shut her door. Once dressed, she walked into the kitchen, to find Toby struggling in his attempt to crack the eggs. "Let me do that love." Mrs. Lovett said, taking the bowl from his hand.

After the pair had eaten and had washed the dishes, Mrs. Lovett asked, "Toby, have you ever been ice-skating?" Toby said he hadn't and they decided to go to the park and skate that afternoon. Mrs. Lovett hurried upstairs to ask Mr. Todd to come too.

She found Mr. Todd sitting in his chair and, setting down his tray of breakfast put her hands on her hips. "Mr. Todd," she said firmly, "Toby and I are going ice-skating this afternoon and you're coming with us."

Mr. Todd blinked. "Beg pardon?" he asked after a pause.

Wondering if this approach was such a good idea after all, Mrs. Lovett repeated what she had said. "And you can't say no." she added.

Mr. Todd stood up and began to walk slowly toward the small baker. She backed up until she felt the wall. "And what makes you think I would want to come with you?" Mr. Todd asked in a threatening tone.

With a gulp, Mrs. Lovett said, "I guess just cause all you do is sit around."

Mr. Todd smirked. "I see. So you think that I should....skate because I don't do anything else." He was dangerously close to her now.

Nervously, Mrs. Lovett nodded. "Well not like that." she squeaked.

Suddenly, his smirk vanished and was replaced with a genuine almost-smile. "Alright then." he said, "I'll go with you." He walked away and went to stand by the window.

Mrs. Lovett's face lit up. "Really?" she asked incredulously.

"Just tell me when you're leaving." Mr. Todd replied.

"Will do Mr. T." Mrs. Lovett said joyfully. She then left, skipping down the shop stairs as though she'd been handed the world.

- - -

True to his word, Mr. Todd did join Mrs. Lovett and Toby in their skating excursion. Poor Toby was having such a hard time with his skates that Mr. Todd and Mrs. Lovett ended up holding his arms as they slid around the frozen pond.

"I think I need to sit for a bit Mum." he said after a few turns around the pond. He didn't want to be too much of a bother, and this excuse seemed plausible. "I have ice all in my skates."

With Toby comfortably seated on a bench and wrapped in a blanket, Mrs. Lovett was free to be as crazy as she wanted on the ice. She spun and twirled and even jumped a few times. Naturally, her grace and beauty (despite the black eye and cut on her cheek) attracted the attention of many of the other skaters on the pond.

"Excuse me miss," one man said, skating alongside her, "But I think you may have dropped this." He held out a handkerchief that was obviously not Mrs. Lovett's. She smiled and said sweetly, "I don't think it is. Go ask someone who isn't going to be fooled by that." Then she turned and zipped off effortlessly.

Another man pretended to trip and clutched at her skirt. "I'm sorry." he said "May I make it up to you with-"

"No." Mr. Todd interrupted. Mrs. Lovett jumped. She hadn't seen him coming up beside her. "Now go away."

The man ruefully skated off, intimidated by the barber's death glare. "Thanks." Mrs. Lovett muttered gratefully, "Wasn't sure it would have been a good idea to hit him."

Mr. Todd grinned. "No, it wouldn't." he said, "I'm glad you refrained."

The pair skated on in pleasant silence and Toby observed them from his seat on the bench. He knew that Mrs. Lovett fancied Mr. Todd, but he didn't know if the barber harbored similar feelings. Until now. After seeing Mr. Todd's reactions to the skaters, he was sure he at least felt a little for her.

Toby smiled at this. Sure he didn't like the man; but Mrs. Lovett did. As long as she was happy, Toby was fine. While thinking about this, he was suddenly struck with an idea as to what to get Mr. Todd for Christmas. Toby wasn't sure it was a wise idea, but he knew that Mrs. Lovett would like it. Leaving the pair on the ice, Toby left the pond and hurried to the market to make the purchase.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Lovett was having an enjoyable time. That is, until one girl and her friend encountered some difficulty. The girl fell back, snatching at her friend to catch herself. She ended up ripping her friend's necklace off and beads skidded everywhere on the pond. Mrs. Lovett did not notice this, and she skated over one of the beads, tripping and twisting her ankle.

With a cry of pain, she stumbled and crumpled to the ground. Reaching for her ankle she sucked in her breath. _Shit!_ she thought, _And it was going so well! _

Mr. Todd hurried to her. "What's wrong," he asked.

"It's my ankle," Mrs. Lovett gasped, "I twisted it. Damn!" she couldn't help but utter the last part. She was on the ground in such a way that as well as being in pain, she had her dress almost up past her knees.

Realizing her problem, Mr. Todd pushed her skirt back down. "What do you want me to do?"

Mrs. Lovett winced. "Just help me get..." But Mr. Todd wasn't listening. He scooped her up and haphazardly made his way off the pond. After sitting her down on a bench, he set to taking her skates off. "Only you could have this happen." he muttered. Mrs. Lovett bit back a retort. He _was_ helping her after all.

"Looks like I'll have to carry you back." Mr. Todd said blankly. He kneeled in front of her. "Climb on my back." he said, "It'll be easier that way." Mrs. Lovett nodded and clumsily clambered on. Mr. Todd, finding himself to be not as uncomfortable as he thought he would be, started down the street.

They found Toby in the shop. "Where were you?" Mrs. Lovett asked accusingly as Mr. Todd unceremoniously plopped her on a chair. The boy dropped his gaze to the floor. "Just getting a last minute Christmas gift." he said nervously.

Mrs. Lovett smiled, but then made a face. "Don't touch that!" she snapped at Mr. Todd, who was trying to examine her ankle.

"Just hold still woman!" he shot back, "I'm trying to help you." Mrs. Lovett settled down and resorted to grimacing and whispering the occasional "ouch" or "shit" while Mr. Todd wrapped her ankle.

"Done." he said at length. Standing up, he looked down at the baker and gave out a chuckle.

"What?" she asked, "What's so funny?"

Mr. Todd shook his head. "You just look so beat up." he said between laughs, "You really do."

With a frown Mrs. Lovett said bitterly, "Well I'm glad you get so much pleasure from my pain."

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_Whew! Almost done. Review!_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Whew! Final chapter. I hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Christmas specials are tons of fun, right?_

_Oh, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!_

**Disclaimer: Listen you old Scrooge who just wants more money. I do not own Sweeney Todd. And I'll still have a merry Christmas anyway! So there, HAHA!**

* * *

It was Christmas morning. Mrs. Lovett was surprised to find that Toby had not woken her up before the crack of dawn, and she stretched sleepily in her warm bed. _Poor lad's probably pacing away, _she thought, _Better get up before he flies to pieces._

After dressing in a festive green dress, Mrs. Lovett hobbled into the parlor, wincing from her ankle, where Toby was busy shaking the presents underneath the tree. "Merry Christmas Toby!" Mrs. Lovett said cheerily, scaring the boy, "Did you figure out what all your presents are yet?"

Toby shook his head shakily. "Not yet," he said with a sheepish grin, "But now that you're up, we can open them right?"

"Not till Mr. Todd's here," Mrs. Lovett replied, "We should wait for him to get up."

"But he is awake!" Toby said frantically, impatient to open his gifts, "He's in the kitchen."

Mrs. Lovett blinked. "Really?" she asked, "He's in the kitchen?"

"Not anymore," a voice said from behind. Mrs. Lovett turned to see Mr. Todd standing in the doorway. "You said something about gifts?"

"Merry Christmas Mr. T," Mrs. Lovett said with a smile, "Toby is anxious to open his presents. Do you mind opening them now?"

Mr. Todd shook his head and Mrs. Lovett gleefully set to passing out the presents she had so carefully wrapped two days prior. Toby was ecstatic about his top and immediately began twirling it around the parlor floor. He had given Mrs. Lovett a locket he had been saving for her for months and Mrs. Lovett was proudly wearing it.

Mrs. Lovett shyly handed Mr. Todd his new holster all wrapped and silently hoped he'd like it. As soon as he saw what it was, Mrs. Lovett caught a flash of joy across his face. "Thanks." he muttered.

"And there's one more thing." Mrs. Lovett said, handing him the box Anthony had delivered, "Merry Christmas."

Slowly, Mr. Todd untied the bow and unclasped the hook. Inside the box was a long lock of silky blonde hair, tied with a blue ribbon. "It's Johanna's." Mrs. Lovett explained nervously, "Anthony got it for me. I thought you may want something else to remember her by, other than that old picture you have. Do you like it?"

At a loss for words, Mr. Todd nodded. "Yeah," he choked, fighting back unwelcome tears, "I do." He cursed himself for being to emotional, and was truly grateful for the gift. Mrs. Lovett sat down beside him. "Oh I didn't mean to make you upset!" she said miserably, "I'm so sorry Mr. T!"

"No, no it's fine," Mr. Todd said hastily, "I like- no, love it. Thank you." He set the box down and awkwardly wrapped an arm around Mrs. Lovett's shoulders. "I have something for you too." he said with a sniff, "Let me get it."

He got up and was back in moments, carrying a small package. "It's nothing like what you gave to me," he warned, but Mrs. Lovett cut him off with a wave of her hand. "Doesn't matter love." she assured him.

Handing the package to her, Mr. Todd sat down and watched her unwrap the gift. She gasped in delight at what she saw. Underneath the paper was a music box, with the name Eleanor engraved on the top. She wound the key and opened the lid. A lively melody sang from the gift. "Nothing like you gave me?" Mrs. Lovett breathed incredulously, "Mr. Todd, this is one of the most beautiful things I have ever received!"

Mr. Todd could only smile. "Merry Christmas Mrs. Lovett." he said softly. Mrs. Lovett beamed. "Thank you so much!" she said, joyfully throwing her arms around him. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Toby cleared his throat uncomfortably, making his presence known. "I have something for you too Mr. Todd," he said handing him the present he had picked up the day before. Mr. Todd opened it to find a sprig of mistletoe laying in a bed of tissue paper. Mrs. Lovett burst out laughing and Mr. Todd soon followed her suit.

Nearly slumping to the ground with relief, Toby chuckled nervously. "Gl-glad you like it." he stuttered, "Merry Christmas."

Their merriment was interrupted by Anthony's entrance into the parlor. "I hope you don't mind that I let myself in." he said, "I knocked several times but-"

"Ah Anthony!" Mrs. Lovett cut it, "Merry Christmas. Come in. I'm so happy you could come!" Toby and Mr. Todd nodded their agreement. "We were just finishing up opening presents. I believe I have one for you too."

"Me?" The sailor asked, "You didn't have to you know."

"Course I did." Mrs. Lovett answered nonchalantly, "You deserve at least _something_ for Christmas." She bent over and picked up the last wrapped present under the tree. "Besides, it's nothing fancy or anything." She handed it to Anthony.

"Thank you Ma'am." Anthony said, fingering the ribbon on it, "But I didn't' get anything for you."

"You've done enough for us already," Mr. Todd spoke up, "It's the least anyone could do."

Anthony grinned and opened his gift. It was a small compass. "So you don't get lost anymore." Mrs. Lovett said with a chuckle. Anthony smiled ruefully, recalling the last time he got lost. It was a win/lose situation that was for sure.

"Thank you Ma'am." he said, "I do appreciate it."

Mrs. Lovett smiled and then stood up. "Well you came for Christmas dinner, and I still have to cook it. I will be in the kitchen." She limped out and Anthony turned to Mr. Todd.

"Forgive me if I seem nosy Mr. Todd," he asked, "But what happened to Mrs. Lovett?"

Mr. Todd rolled his eyes and explained all that had happened in the past two days. Anthony laughed as Mr. Todd told him about the tree falling on Mrs. Lovett. "She really said she would rip them out with a fork?" he asked between laughs.

Meanwhile, Toby was busy surreptitiously fastening the mistletoe he had bought to the doorframe. _If you want something done right, _he thought, _You have to do it yourself!_

Mrs. Lovett had spent part of the previous day baking for Christmas dinner, so all she had to make was the small turkey and the potatoes now. The house was soon filled with the delicious aroma of the turkey and Mr. Todd found his stomach growling.

Presently, Mrs. Lovett came to the doorway saying, "Toby, come set a table; dinner's almost ready."

"I'll do it!" Anthony said, "The boy's having too much fun to want to stop now." He stood up and walked to where she was standing. Toby glanced up, and was filled with dread. _Please don't look up, please don't look up!_ he pleaded. For the sailor and the baker where standing directly under the mistletoe.

Noticing Toby's stricken face, Mrs. Lovett followed his gaze to above her head, where the mistletoe hung merrily. "Uh-oh." she said. Anthony looked up and blushed. "Oh no." he said, "Oh no. We don't have to, right?"

Mrs. Lovett also blushed. "Well..." she said, "I'm not sure. I've heard things about having bad luck if you don't. And I certainly don't need any of that."

Anthony turned even redder and Mr. Todd was looking quite uncomfortable. "Fine." Anthony said at length, "Just make it quick."

Mrs. Lovett nodded and puckered up. In half a moment, she had leaned over and pecked him on the lips. Anthony quickly made his escape into the kitchen and Mrs. Lovett almost hurried after him, thinking that the awkwardness would be better than Mr. Todd's death glare. But instead, she flashed him a regretful smile and _then_ left to finish dinner, hoping that the smile would cool him off a little.

Soon all four of them were seated and enjoying the delicious food. They chatted cheerfully and showed off their presents until Anthony announced that he had to leave. "Thank you again." he said for the sixth time that afternoon, "I enjoyed myself very much. Merry Christmas."

They bid their goodbyes and had to remind Anthony twice not to forget his gift. Then the sailor finally left the shop, waving as he walked down the street.

After everything had been cleaned up, Mrs. Lovett busied herself teaching Toby how to play chess while Mr. Todd watched. Toby soon got the hang of it and they played into the night till finally Mrs. Lovett had to put the board away. She was tired and she was sure Toby was too. She sent him off to bed and he went without protest, a sure sign of exhaustion for him.

Mrs. Lovett walked over to the doorframe and reached to pull the mistletoe off, when Mr. Todd stopped her. "It's not fair." he said quietly, "Anthony got a kiss and I didn't." He leaned closer till his lips were just brushing hers. "Don't you think?"

With a breathless nod, Mrs. Lovett pushed her lips against his and was lost in a world of pure bliss. At length, she pulled away. "Better?" she asked with a smirk. Mr. Todd shook his head. "Not quite." he replied and resumed kissing her.

They didn't know how long they had been standing there after they broke apart. It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes, it could have been years. But finally, Mr. Todd rested his forehead against Mrs. Lovett's and whispered, "Merry Christmas." before giving her one last kiss and leaving to go upstairs.

As Mrs. Lovett got ready for bed that night, she couldn't help thinking about how although it had probably been the most unconventional Christmas ever, it was also the best.

* * *

_Merry Christmas!_


End file.
